Cuts to community legal service in outback NSW

The Far West Community Legal Service will close its Broken Hill office two days a week, because of a lack of funds.

The service is also halving the number of appointments it offers at Menindee, and cutting a program for inmates in the Broken Hill prison.

Chief Executive, Tracey Willow, says the service has not received an increase in funding for several years, and has to cut costs.

"I feel so dreadful that this decision has had to be made," she said.

"But until we get the state or the federal government to realise that this centre out in the far west, which doesn't have a legal aid office, cannot continue on its existing funding, we've got no alternative," she said.

Ms Willow says the service will also have to cancel its proposed outreach services to the outback towns of Ivanhoe, White Cliffs and Tibooburra.

"If we don't get enhanced and recurrent funding that means we can offer the best service to our whole region - not only to Broken Hill - then this service is not going to be able to do what it's supposed to do," she said.

Ms Willow says inmates at the Broken Hill Correctional Facility will only be visited once a month, instead of once a week.

She says this means they will be worse off than inmates in other parts of the state.

"We were going to start a community legal education strategy with the correctional facility this year, which would have been really valuable for those who are in the correctional facility, but we're not going to be able to do that," she said.

"So in terms of reducing advice, that means people who are in the correctional facility will wait longer to get legal advice."

The New South Wales Attorney-General, Greg Smith, was not available for an interview, but a spokeswoman says Legal Aid New South Wales provides support through a family law solicitor at Dubbo.